Does He Have a Name?
by kevin the bird
Summary: "It's fine, sweetheart," Madeline said to her son as she continued to hold the bottle for the six-month-old in her arms. "Does he have a name?" she asked. "Blake," Michael replied.


Madeline wasn't often brought in during a mission. Despite everything that Michael had been through during his childhood, he was still very protective of his mother. He had witnessed his drunken father beat her so he and his brother wouldn't get beaten enough times to last a life time. This mission, a couple left their six-month-old with a group of people that they shouldn't have left him with. The aunt of said baby had had enough of her nephew being left in places he shouldn't be, so she called Michael and the gang to help get her nephew back. The aunt lived a couple of hours away, so she couldn't be there until later that night. Michael and Sam were both clueless when it came to kids and Fiona had somewhere to go, so that left Madeline as the only one that was good with kids. So they drove over to Michael's childhood home and let themselves in.

"Ma?" Michael called as he walked through the front door, baby in arms. Madeline just finished doing her laundry, so she walked into the kitchen with a basket full of clean clothes. The first thing she noticed was a baby in her son's arms, which wasn't something she ever anticipated to see.

"Did you have a kid and not tell me?" Madeline asked as she set the basket on the table and walked into the living room as Sam also walked through the front door and closed it behind himself.

"Hmm?" Michael breathed. "Oh," he said as he looked down at the baby in his arms. "His parents left him with people he shouldn't have been left with and his aunt asked us if we could get him out." Normally Michael, Sam and Fiona wouldn't have agreed to do something like that, but the people the parents left the baby with were known drug and gun dealers, so it was in the baby's interest for professionals to get him. When Madeline walked over to her son, she looked down at the baby.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she ran a finger along the baby's cheek. Michael remembered enough from when Nate was a baby to know that despite their relationship being rocky during the later years of his childhood, she was good with babies.

"Take him, Ma. He needs some of that hidden maternal instinct I know you have," Michael said softly. He started to move the baby in his arms so Madeline could take him, which caused the baby to start to whimper. Madeline immediately took the six-month-old into her arms so she was cradling him. The baby didn't have a lot of maternal love. His mother never really took care of him and the people he was left with didn't really care for him either. When the baby started to cry, Madeline's maternal instinct started to kick in.

"Does he have a bottle?" Madeline asked. That's when Sam looked in the diaper bag he grabbed when they were leaving. He pulled out a full bottle of formula. "Can you warm that up for me, honey?" she asked when Sam showed it to her.

"Right," Sam said as he walked into the kitchen and heated up the bottle for the baby in Madeline's arms. A few minutes later, he walked back to where Madeline was standing and handed it to her. When the bottle was in her hands, Madeline pushed the nipple into the baby's mouth. Michael watched on as Madeline fed the baby in her arms. He smiled when he noticed the baby looking up at Madeline in a way only a baby could.

"He's blissed out," he said. "Great, huh, buddy? It's what's called maternal instinct," he said, more to the baby then to his mother. Madeline looked up at Michael and smiled at her son. "I didn't know where else to go. Fiona had to meet with someone," he added. He knew he didn't have to explain to Madeline, that she had long given up asking questions about his missions, but he figured he owed her some kind of explanation.

"It's fine, sweetheart," she said to her son as she continued to hold the bottle for the six-month-old in her arms. "Does he have a name?" she asked.

"Blake," Michael replied. That's about all he knew about the baby. Silence fell over the adults again as Madeline just watched the baby. Sam had never quite seen her maternal instinct so prominent before.

"She's really good with babies," he noted out loud. Michael agreed. He knew she was because he remembered when Nate was a baby, but it still surprised him. After Nate hit about the age of eight and he was thirteen, her maternal instinct stopped showing itself quite as much as it had before. He wasn't sure if it was because Frank had finally gotten to her and her former self just disappeared with each beating he gave her or what, but after that, their relationship became really rocky.

"You may recall that I've done this a couple of times," Madeline said as she looked up at the man who spoke, having heard what Sam said.

"I wasn't doubting you, Mads," Sam said as he put his hands up in defeat. Madeline looked back down at the baby as Michael walked over to his mother and peered over her shoulder down at the baby in his arms. Madeline leaned into his body and looked up at him.

"I don't suppose you'll be giving me one of these any time soon?" she asked her son, knowing full well the answer.

"Sorry, Ma," Michael started as he softly laughed. "You're going to have to stick with Charlie for now." Madeline nodded her head silently. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Michael and Sam drinking a few beers and Madeline taking care of the baby.


End file.
